October signals the beginning of hunting season across much of the West. Whether you’re headed into the high country in search of mule deer, glassing the ridges for elk, or walking the sagebrush flats for antelope, I wish you success, safety, and a meaningful connection to the wild places we all cherish. These moments in the field are part of what makes our conservation mission so personal and powerful. While we celebrate the hunting traditions we love, we must also confront an unsettling truth: Mule deer populations across much of the West continue to struggle many have been in decline for decades. We have many committed hunters, wildlife biologists, and others who are fighting to avoid these declines, but there remains much to be done. These declines are not caused by a single factor, but rather a convergence of threats that, without intervention, could worsen in the years ahead. Unfortunately, the story of these population declines and their root causes is not being told broadly, and we hope to get the word out.

Among the most serious challenges are: (1) the loss and fragmentation of habitat due to expanding development and infrastructure, (2) the decline of summer and winter range quality from invasive species and overgrown vegetation, (3) the disruption of historic migration corridors that deer have followed for generations, (4) increasingly severe drought and climate stress reducing forage and water availability, (5) imbalances in predator-prey dynamics, especially in vulnerable populations, (6) the spread of disease like Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), and (7) the dual threat of catastrophic wildfire and dense, unhealthy forests caused by decades of fire suppression.

And yet, this is not a story of defeat. In fact, it’s one of progress and potential. Thanks to your support, MDF is actively reversing some of these trends. Where we’ve invested in habitat restoration, migration corridor protection, and vegetation management, we are seeing results. We’ve removed invasive cheatgrass to improve forage, reopened blocked travel routes for migrating herds, and thinned forests to restore healthy understory plants vital for deer nutrition.

These successes are proof that conservation works when it’s done right and at the Mule Deer Foundation, we’re doing it right. We are partnering with state and federal agencies, working closely with private landowners, and uniting communities around a shared commitment to healthy landscapes and thriving wildlife.

Still, we know the road ahead is long. It will take continued investment, science-based action, and the united voice of conservationists like you to ensure mule deer have a future on the landscapes they’ve roamed for millennia.

So as you lace up your boots and head into the field this fall, know that your support is doing more than preserving a tradition it’s helping restore a species. Thank you for standing with us, and from all of us at MDF, have a safe and successful hunting season.

Sincerely,
Greg Sheehan, President and CEO
Mule Deer Foundation | Blacktail Deer Foundation